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What Makes A Good NH Sire? Part 2

Good morning all,

The second part of Caroline's article this week, detailing her Top 10 NH Sires. Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoy it.

NH Sires Part 2: my Ten To Follow

Morning all,

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Following on from yesterday’s overview of National Hunt breeding, today I bring you my own Ten To Follow of sires operating in this sphere. Presented in order of their age, these range from well-established stallions at the top of the tree, through those in the process of making their names and onto some newcomers who are, as yet, entirely unproven. Time will tell whether any of them make it!

Flemensfirth
1992 b h Alleged – Etheldreda (Diesis)
Standing: Beeches Stud (IRE) @ €15,000
One of the top proven NH stallions currently active, which in itself is remarkable given that he recently turned 28. You would assume that he must cover a limited book these days but fair play to the old fella just the same! And, whilst he is fit, willing and able, you can understand why anyone would wish to take the opportunity to breed to him, as Flemensfirth has sired a host of top class staying chasers over the years, amongst them my two current favourites: Lostintranslation and Topofthegame. Both are absolute beauties! Throw in Imperial Commander, Flemenstar, Tidal Bay and Waiting Patiently and you can see why he’s so popular. With the pipeline still going strong, we can hope for many more stars to come in the next few years.

Kayf Tara
1994 b h Sadler’s Wells – Colorspin (High Top)
Standing: Overbury Stud (GB) @ £10,000
Let’s face it, I was always going to love Kayf Tara! From one of my favourite families in the stud book, his dam Colorspin won the Yorkshire Oaks for Sir Michael Stoute and has proved an outstanding broodmare, producing not only this champion stayer on the Flat and dual Ascot Gold Cup winner but also the top class Opera House, his full brother. Kayf Tara pretty much fulfils the brief as a NH sire perfectly: he has the breeding, the looks, the stamina and the class to succeed – and he duly has. Still the top NH stallion standing in Great Britain, he is another whose longevity has helped him build a great record, as he continues to cover mares aged 26. Some of his star performers include Thistlecrack (who I adore!), Special Tiara (also adored, RIP) and Blaklion amidst a whole host. As with Flemensfirth, there is every hope of more to follow in the next few years.

Kalanisi
1996 b h Doyoun – Kalamba (Green Dancer)
Standing: Boardsmill Stud (IRE) @ €4,000
Another horse with a Stoute stable connection – and not the last of them! Many of you will remember Kalanisi’s epic battles with Giant’s Causeway over middle distances, where he lost nothing in defeat, but he surpassed even those efforts in winning the Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf. Almost black in colour, like his sire Doyoun, he’s big and strong and was bred by HH Aga Khan, whose families contain decades of class and who never eschewed stamina in favour of a quick result, one of the luxuries of being an owner breeder. However, it is with his NH progeny that Kalanisi has made his name at stud, chief amongst them Katchit. He has had to work hard to gain success and build his reputation but it continues to be enhanced by the likes of current performers Darver Star, Kalashnikov and Imperial Aura. Another still covering into his 20s and representing great value at his €4,000 fee, he should have plenty more success to come.

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Sandmason
1997 ch h Grand Lodge – Sandy Island (Mill Reef)
Standing: Lacken Stud (IRE) @ private fee
Sandmason is a stallion who has had to fight to make it and no doubt his belated success at stud has been all the sweeter for that. Despite having a more than respectable pedigree and race record, including winning the Hardwicke Stakes for Sir Henry Cecil, he was initially afforded few opportunities at stud and was covering very small books of mares, which dwindled away almost to nothing. As recently as 2016 he had no visitors at all, and only one in 2017! And then along came Summerville Boy and Black Op, and suddenly everyone realised what they’d been missing. Since then, Sandmason has become Mr Popular. Aged 21 he’s had to up his game considerably to cope with demand – and by all accounts he has risen to the occasion magnificently! So let’s hear it for the late developers and celebrate the fact that it didn’t prove to be too late when his talents were finally unearthed. I hope he continues to thrive and that this leads to a burgeoning of his reputation in the coming years.

Saddler Maker
1998 b h Sadler’s Wells – Animatrice (Alleged)
Stood in France; died in 2016
Sadly the same hopes cannot be offered for Saddler Maker, who is the only deceased sire included on my list. He was one for whom the success did come just too late: no sooner had he started to make a real impact from limited chances then he passed away, so was unable to capitalise on it in full. Nonetheless, there are more of his young stock still to race, with his final crop either 3yos or 4yos (depending on when he died in 2016), and so a hope that he may yet add to his record, which is currently topped by the likes of multiple Grade 1 winners Bristol De Mai and Apple’s Jade. As with many on my top ten list, Saddler Maker was owner-bred and from a very strong female family, out of the Wertheimers’ Oaks-placed mare Animatrice. Also like the majority, he is descended from the Sadler’s Wells line, showing what a powerful influence the latter has had on NH breeding as well as his dominance as a Flat sire.

Yeats
2001 b h Sadler’s Wells – Lyndonville (Top Ville)
Standing: Castle Hyde Stud (IRE) @ €5,000
And so, rather aptly, to Yeats. Could any Flat racer be better qualified to go forth and produce NH winners? Another by the great Sadler’s Wells, he started his own racing career on the Derby trail but was derailed by injury as a 3yo. However, he bounced back to reinvent himself as the staying champion of a generation, going on to win the Ascot Gold Cup an unprecedented four times. A magnificent stamp of a horse, who reputedly has a massive heart to match his frame (meaning the organ itself – there is no doubt as to his courage), he is the epitome of what you’d look for in a sire of jumpers. So he’s been a roaring success, right? Well, not quite…or at least, not yet. Yeats is proving to be more of a slow burner than that, but he is steadily building a good portfolio of representatives. We shouldn’t forget that, because he raced for no less than seven seasons himself, he didn’t retire to stud until 2010. Despite his own age (he is rising 19), his oldest progeny are only nine, so it remains too early to judge him – remember what I said yesterday about writing off sires too soon? Among his best to date, he has sired De Rasher Counter and Shattered Love, but there are many younger upcoming horses promising plenty to come, such as Chantry House, Master Debonair and Hang In There. I think we should abide by the latter-named: there should be plenty more to come.

Walk In The Park
2002 b h Montjeu – Classic Park (Robellino)
Standing: Grand Stud (IRE) @ private fee
Here is a horse who trod a slightly unorthodox path to stud, which took him via the Epsom Derby (where he was runner-up to Motivator) to a crack over hurdles himself! In his final racecourse appearance, he tried a newcomers’ event at Auteuil as a 5yo. Although well-beaten, finishing 5th in the end, he seemed to have gone off the boil by then anyway. Interesting that they gave it a try though, and therefore evidently took the trouble to teach him to jump, for which presumably he showed some aptitude. That’s pretty rare in a Group 1 horse, particularly an entire. Whatever they thought at the time, Walk In The Park quickly showed at stud that he could produce a top class NH horse, siring the mighty Douvan in his second crop. He followed up with Min and his reputation was established. I latched onto him quite early in this journey, having seen Douvan win his Supreme at Cheltenham, and have followed his progress ever since. From memory I think Walk In The Park stood in France initially, where he had been trained and mostly raced, but following his early success he was added to the Coolmore NH roster in Ireland and is based there nowadays. Consequently I suspect both the quality and quantity of mares he’s received will have risen, and have anecdotally seen him mentioned a number of times as the chosen mate of a high class mare, most recently for Apple’s Jade. He won’t lack for opportunities to expand his record in coming seasons and I look forward to seeing how he performs.

Wings Of Eagles
2014 b h Pour Moi – Ysoldina (Kendor)
Standing: Beeches Stud (IRE) @ €6,000
I was lucky enough to attend the 2017 Derby at Epsom and had bagged myself a front row pitch around the parade ring in plenty of time to ogle the big race runners beforehand. (Basically you have to sacrifice watching the Dash in order to do this!) As is often the case, Ballydoyle had turned up mob –handed with six runners, so had their work cut out in the saddling-up stakes! Cliffs Of Moher was the favourite but it was one of his stablemates who stood out on looks: the unfancied Wings Of Eagles. Of course I dismissed his chances nonetheless; he’d been beaten in his trial race by the reopposing Venice Beach (my pick) so why should he reverse the form? Racing makes fools of us all though, and as we know he flew home to collar Cliffs Of Moher and win at 40/1. Having seen him up close that day, however, I didn’t think his win was the fluke it may have seemed. To me, this could be a horse peaking at the perfect moment and coming of age; he had a great physique and was with top connections. I looked forward to seeing him progress and prove himself worthy of his Classic win, but sadly it was not to be. In his next start at the Curragh, he came out on the wrong end of a three-way battle with Capri and Cracksman for the Irish equivalent, beaten half a length, but it transpired he had sustained a serious leg injury in the process. His racing career was over, and with it the chance to show his Epsom run wasn’t a one-off. In today’s climate, he had not achieved enough to earn a place at stud as a commercial Flat sire: his one big win came over middle distance and he has a good but not flashy pedigree. What he does have, however, is Coolmore backing in the NH sphere and that impressive physique. He ticks a lot of boxes for me as a potential sire of good jumpers, and even some decent Flat performers over 10f+. I hope that, in a few years’ time, he will surprise people with what he can achieve.

Crystal Ocean
2014 b h Sea The Stars – Crystal Star (Mark Of Esteem)
Standing: Beeches Stud (IRE) @ €8,000
The fact that Crystal Ocean even gets to appear in this list, that he is viewed from the outset of his stud career as a NH stallion, makes me feel ranty inside. It’s an appalling indictment of the commercial breeding industry and the attitude of buyers today that this top class 10-12f horse is not viewed as capable of siring desirable Flat horses. His crime? He was a late maturer who improved with age. It just makes me want to weep… But once I’ve mopped up my futile tears, let’s try to find something to celebrate here, which is that Crystal Ocean promises to make an excellent sire of NH horses. He got better in each of the four seasons he raced, was admirably consistent and gave everything in a battle – who will ever forget the race he gave Enable in last year’s King George? On the figures she only beat him due to her mares’ allowance. Yet another owner-bred product of an excellent female family, he should be given every chance to shine by the Coolmore NH brigade. Let’s hope he has the last laugh here and goes on to excel at stud.

Goliath Du Berlais
2015 b h Saints Des Saints – King’s Daughter (King’s Theatre)
Standing: Haras de la Tuilerie (FRA) @ €7,500
We end with something completely different, and an absolutely fascinating prospect for that reason. Goliath Du Berlais represents a very different take on how to go about producing a NH sire, one that the French have embraced far more than other nations. He is not only bred from classic NH stock but he raced at the highest level over obstacles for young horses in his homeland, where there is a well-developed programme for 3yos and 4yos, encompassing chases as well as hurdles. Over two seasons, Goliath Du Berlais ran 12 times in total (all at Auteuil) and won seven of his eight chase starts, culminating in the flagship Grade 1 for 4yos there, the Prix Ferdinand Dufaure, over 2m 6f. He hacked up as the 3/10f that day and was promptly retired, ready to breed the next generation of young jumpers himself. His own sire, Saint Des Saints (who’s produced Djakadam among a host of highly-rated exports to Ireland and Britain) was also high class over obstacles in France, whilst grandsire Cadoudal was responsible for Big Buck’s and Long Run. Add to the mix that he is out of a King’s Theatre mare, one of our best NH stallions in Britain and Ireland of recent years, and you have a fantastic basis from which to breed jumpers. I believe this is exactly what the French are hoping to achieve by having this programme for young jumpers: to test their stock for their suitability to continue the line and then grant the very best of them the opportunity to do so. It will be fascinating to see what Goliath Du Berlais can produce in his second career; he has a great deal in his favour on paper.

Stay safe, until next week.

Caroline.

9 thoughts on “What Makes A Good NH Sire? Part 2”

  1. Hi Caroline
    A Crystal Ocean offspring should be capable
    of winning a Triumph Hurdle
    Sire.Sea the Stars (Top class)
    Dam Sire. Mark of Esteem out of Darshaan out
    of Shirley Heights plenty of stamina on dam side

  2. Sandmason’s fall from grace was absurd, what a pedigree.
    Glad to read about the last four;the seasons ahead will the more interesting for knowing their stories.

    1. Thanks Chris, much appreciated. I agree that Sandmason had every right to a chance at stud on his background, he comes from a strong family nurtured over many years by Lord Howard de Walden’s family – those famous apricot colours! I hadn’t appreciated the influence of owner breeders behind the dams of so many high class NH sires before researching this article. They’re considered to be a dying breed themselves though, which does make one wonder what the future holds in this respect.

  3. Really interesting article Caroline.
    I shall be looking at the breeding far more in the future.
    Thanks for the in depth information.
    Regards
    Tony

  4. Caroline
    Excellent article especially for the small owner breeder. We have one mare ( a half sister to Coneygree by Overbury). As a matter of principle we have only used English sires ( I know ) and we have a colt by Malinas ( now in Ireland );a strapping colt by Kayf Tara; a colt by Blue Bresil ( now in Ireland ); a sturdy yearling by Jack Hobbs ( first crop ); and she is in foal to Masterstroke ( first year in England from France ). Apart from Kayf Tara none of the sires on your list are available to us and for a variety of reasons we are looking for another English alternative to that great sire.
    I would value your thoughts and insight on any current English sires you feel it would be worth thinking about for her next covering. Telescope is on our radar.
    Many thanks.
    Alan

    1. Hi Alan, thanks very much for your comments and I’m honoured you’d ask my opinion with regard to your own mare! Obviously I don’t know her breeding but I certainly wouldn’t put you off Telescope, who wasn’t far off making the cut for my top ten here. I’d also give Schiaparelli a good shout, as he’s very good value and more proven than Telescope, with runners including the gorgeous mare Indefatigable representing him. Happy to email you in more detail but good luck meanwhile with whoever you choose.

      1. Caroline
        Schiaparelli is certainly a good choice to put into the mix ( Ronald Pump also advertised his sire material at Cheltenham) and has now been added to the list.I think it was David Minton who said that most sire decisions were made over Christmas lunch so perhaps we can review nearer that time.
        Many thanks.
        Alan

  5. Hi Caroline, I’m wondering if your memory goes back to the 60’s/70’s and the prolific Sire VULGAN. He produced scores of solid, hardy NH racehorses. I think he stood in Ireland. Can any of today’s top quality jumpers be traced back to him. I realise, of course, that the type of steeplechaser has changed over the decades with, as your list illustrates, more breeding coming fro m top Flat horses.
    Pat O’Connell

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